Hotels in Bali

Located at South Kuta Beach, Kuta Paradiso Hotel is luxury five-star hotel, a resort style in downtown Kuta area. A combination of 243 deluxe, superior rooms and suites are arranged in two wings leading off the hotel's spacious lobby. All rooms are providing comfortable, tasteful accommodation overlooking the ocean and the hotel's landscaped tropical gardens.

Kuta Paradiso Hotel is just ten minutes drive from the airport, centrally surrounded by restaurants, amusement center, and nightlife entertainment. The famous Kuta Square-shopping center is just at our doorstep. Enjoy your holiday in Kuta, Bali!

Point of Interests:

The famous Kuta Beach – 50m

Kuta Arts & Souvenir market – 50m

Matahari Department Store - 50m

Kuta Square Shopping Center – 50m

Paradiso Bowling & Billiard Center – 50m

Dee Jay Club, cutting edge underground club - 50m

Water Boom, water park center – 50m

Discovery Shopping Mall – 75m

Hard Rock Café – 100m

Samcheok Ocean Railbike gives riders a unique East Coast tour!

The coastline along the East Sea is characterized by expansive beaches, cozy seaside communities, and dynamically changing scenery. Running against this splendid backdrop is the Samcheok Ocean Railbike, a specially-designed, four-wheel bike that gives riders an intimate look at the area's seaside splendor. Take a gentle pedal along the tracks as you feel the fresh wind blowing through the lush pine trees groves. The tour also has a more modern side; as you pass through each tunnel, you'll be treated to a fantastic laser light show. Don't miss out on this unique touring experience, a perfect combination of the beauty of nature and the wonders of modern technology.

The Samcheok Ocean Railbike Tour is 5.4 kilometers long. The tour starts from Gungchon Station (궁촌역), stops at the Chogok Rest Area (초곡휴게소), goes through Chogok Tunnel (초곡터널), Chogok Tunnel 2, and the Yonghwa Tunnel (용화터널) before reaching its final destination at Yonghwa Station (용화역) 40 minutes later. The specially-designed Railbike can seat two to four people and comes equipped with a small motor that kicks in during the uphill portions of the route. The maximum speed of the Railbike is 20 kilometers.

Captivating views of pines and the indigo-blue sea Soon after you begin your journey, you'll come across a beach surrounded by a lush grove of pine trees alongside a turquoise blue ocean and sparkling white sand. As the bike begins to pick up speed, the sea breeze feels stronger and more refreshing. After riding along past numerous scenic points, you'll find yourself at Chogok Rest Area, where you can get off the bike and take a break by visiting the observation deck or taking a look at the various sculptures. After a short 15-minute rest, climb back aboard to complete your journey. Pedal along past another pine forest to reach the Chogok Tunnel 2 featuring dioramas of the beautiful landscape of Samcheok. Charming underwater world in illuminated tunnels.

As the Railbike enters Chogok Tunnel 2, you will be greeted by what many consider the highlight of the ocean Railbike Tour: a colorful show of lights and lasers illuminating the dark tunnel interior. The 1.5-kilometer-long tunnel is dotted with various illuminated dioramas, lanterns, LEDs, and lasers. Images of dolphins and fish swimming and blue lighting transport visitors of all ages into this magical underwater world. Chogok Tunnel 2 ends in a brilliant display of lasers and LED lights as the Railbike passes through the Milky way Galaxy and a fleet of brightly shining stars.

The last tunnel is Yonghwa where the light show continues. Here you'll find a rainbow of colors straight out of a fairytale. This grand finale is a breathtaking show of light and color sure to astound!

The last destination of the Railbike tour is Yonghwa Station. The Yonghwa Beach nearby is small, but clean and quiet. Tucked out of the way, the beach is free from summer crowds and allows visitors to explore the area at a leisurely pace. The Yonghwacheon Stream flows to oneside of the beach and the adjacent pine grove is perfect for a shaded stroll. One both sides of the crescent-shaped beach are clustered of uniquely-shaped rocks that add the final scenic touch to this awe-inspiring scene.

Nearby attractions : Hwanseongul Cave, Daegeumgul Cave, Janghohang Port Samcheok is home to a number of old caves that took many years of excavation before they could be revealed to the world. Hwaseongul Cave is the largest limestone cave in Asia. Located in a mountain at an altitude of 500 meters above sea level, the cave is 6.2 kilometers long. Hidden inside the cave are series of stalactites, a dozen of small lakes, and six waterfalls. Daegeumgul Cave can be accessed by monorail, which goes as far as 140 meters inside the cave. Near Janghohang Port, visitors can enjoy a beautiful coastline, a white sandy beach, interesting rock formations, and a variety of seafood dishes.

Visitor Information

Route: 5.4km along the coast from Gungchon-ri to Yonghwa-ri in Samcheok
Travel Time: 35 - 40 minutes
Departure: Gungchon Station (Gangwon-do Samcheok-si Geundeok-myeon,
Gungchon-ri 146-10) / Yonghwa Station (Gangwon-do Samcheok-si
Geundeok-myeon, Yonghwa-ri 14-6)
One-way fare: 30,000 won for four people, 20,000 won for two people
Reservation: Log in at the official site (www.oceanrailbike.com) to
make a reservation (Korean)
* Those interested in riding the Samcheok Ocean Railbike must make
reservations in advance via the official site (currently available in
Korean only). Non-Korean speakers are encouraged to ask a friend or
travel agent for assistance in making reservations.
Tel: 033-576-0656 (Korean)
Korea Travel Phone: +82-33-575-1330 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)
To get there:
Seoul → Samcheok
Seoul Express Bus Terminal (Subway Line 3, Express Bus Terminal
Station)-> Samcheok Express Bus Terminal (travel time: 3 hours, 30
minutes; first bus at 06:30, last bus at 23:30; bus departs every 40
minutes; fare: 15,900 won-25,700 won)

Samcheok → Gungchon station → Yonghwa Station
Take Bus 23 or 24 at Samcheok Express Bus terminal (travel time: 20 minutes).
Official site of Tourism in Samcheok http://eng.samcheok.go.kr
(Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)

Toba Lake - North Sumatera

Toba Lake

World famous is the crater Toba Lake in the Batak highlands; approximately five hours drive from Medan. Toba Lake is the largest lake in South East Asia and also one of the most spectacular, surrounded by tall mountains and with the large island of Samosir in the middle. If we descend from the mountain we see the lake glittering in all its beauty. The Dutch writer Rudy Kousbroek even called Toba Lake, 'the most beautiful place on earth'. Most visitors stay on the peninsula of Tuk Tuk on Samosir, named after the linguist Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk. In general people stay several days on Samosir to discover the island, to visit traditional Batak villages, to swim in the lake and go to the hot springs in Pangururan.

The centerpiece of North Sumatra, Lake Toba's bracing climate and magnificent panoramas clear the mind and soothe the soul. For decades a magnet from regional and foreign visitors alike, Toba has developed into a full-featured highland resort while retaining the rustic charm and relaxed ambiance that define Toba's attraction. Formed by a stupendous prehistoric volcanic explosion, the 100 km long lake is the largest in Southeast Asia and one of the deepest and the highest in the world. The drama of that cataclysmic birth persist in 500 meter cliffs dropping into the blue-green waters, surrounded by steep, pine covered sloped, the climate is fresh and pleasant, with just enough rain to support the lush vegetation.

Toba Lake is a 100kms x 30kms volcanic lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Toba Lake has become one of the main tourist attractions for a long time in North Sumatra apart from Bukit Lawang and Nias, visited by both domestic and foreign tourist.

The Origin of Toba Lake

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It is estimated that Toba Lake was formed during a volcanic eruption about 73.000-75.000 years ago and which was the most recent super volcano eruption. Bill Rose and Craig Chesner from Michigan Technological University estimated that volcanic materials that were spewed out the mountain totaling 2800km3, with 800km3 ignimbrites rock and 2000km3 volcanic ash that is estimated was blown (wind) to the west for 2 weeks. This incident caused mass death (destruction) and to several species also causes extinction. According to some DNA proof, this eruption also shrinks the humankind population to around thousands back then.

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After this eruption, a caldera was formed that was filled by water afterwards and now known as Toba Lake. The pressure from the dormant magma, which has not yet erupted, caused Samosir Island to emerge. The region that now known as Samosir Island originally was a peninsula that attached to the Sumatran mainland. In this peninsula the Netherlands built the water canal 10 m width.

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For the first time visitors, going through Medan-Parapat route seeing a lake as big as that made Samosir appear like an amazing grand island. However, the island perspective will certainly faded with the increase in Toba plateau visitor, Nias and the other places in the south, through Medan-Berastagi route. Samosir occupied a central geographical position in the Toba plateau region. With the declaration of the Toba Samosir Regency (the inhabitants 302.000 lives, the area with wide of 3.440 km including the lake) it finally ascend from only a shadow into a Regency. Moreover, the width of Samosir Island exceed Singapore (647 km), in fact Toba Lake almost twice bigger than Singapore. The Samosir image in tourism books as the backpackers location must be changed because this historic place must restore the greatness of its past.

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Legend of Toba Lake
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Once upon a time, lived a young orphan farmer in the northern part of the Sumatran Island. This area was very dry. The young man lived from farming and fishing. One day he went fishing, he already fishing for half of the day but still not getting any fish yet. So he returned home for the day turns to night, but when he nearly left he saw a big beautiful golden fish, he then caught the fish and brought it home. He intended to cook the fish right away but watched the beauty of this fish he then cancelled his intention. He chose to keep it as pet, and then he placed it in a big pond and feed it. On the next day, like usual, he went to his farm, and on the noon he comeback home, to have lunch. But when he arrived in his house he was very startled for the meal had prepared to be eaten. He then fears that the fish might be stolen, and then hastily he ran to the back of his house.

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However, the fish was still in place, for a long time he thinks, "Who cooks those meals", but because his is very hungry, he ate those meals. But this incident continued to occur again repeatedly, every time he came home for lunch, the meals are prepared on the table. Then one day this young man made a strategy to find out who cooks those meals, the next day he then began to commence his strategy, he then hide around the trees close to his house. He was waiting for a long time, but the smoke in his kitchen still has not been seen, and when he then intended to return home, he began to see the smoke in the kitchen.

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"Hey woman, who are you, and where are you came from?" the woman began to drop tears, and then the young man saw his fish was no longer in the pond. He asked the woman, "hey woman, where is the fish in that pond?" the Woman cried intensely, but this young man continued to ask
and finally the woman answers, "I was the fish that was caught by you". The young man then startled, but because he felt that he had hurt the feelings this woman, then he said, "Hey woman, did you want to become my wife??" the Woman then startled, he stay quiet, then the young man said "Why are you silent??" Then the woman said, "I wanted to become your wife. But with one condition." "What is the condition?" the young man quickly asked, the woman then said, "In the future if our child was born and grew, never even once you said that he/she was anakni Dekke (child of a fish) ". The young man then agreed to that condition and swore he will never say it.
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Then they were married and granted a child. When the child was 6 years old, this child turn to be very naughty. Then one day the mother told her child to deliver meals to his father field, the child then went to deliver rice to his father. But in the middle of the trip, this child was felt hungry, then the child opened food package for his father, and ate the food. After finished eating, the child then wrapped it back and continued the trip to his father's field. On arrival the child gave the food package to the father, the father was very happy, the father then sat and immediately opened the food package that was sent by his wife to be carried by his child. But he was very startled when he opened the package there is only bones remained. The father then asked his child "Hay my child, why there are only bones left in this package??" And the child answers," In my trip I felt hungry, so I ate the food." Listened to that the father was very angry, he then slap his child and said, "Botul maho anakni dekke (Why you child of a fish),". The child is then ran home crying and ask to his mother "Mak, Olo do na in dokkon amangi, botul do au anakni dekke? (Mother, is it true what father said, that I am a child from a fish?) " Heard his child's words his mother was startled. While dropping tears and saying in her heart, "My husband has violated his swore, and now I must return to my place." Then the sky was suddenly become dark followed with lightning, thunder, storm, and rain. The child and the mother disappeared, from their footprint emerged a spring that flowed water as swiftly as possible. Until this area was turned into a lake, that was named as "Tuba Lake" the lake without mercy, but because of the bataks was difficult to say "Tuba", then this lake was mentioned as TOBA LAKE.

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According to the local Citizen, the mother return as a huge fish (the lake guardian), and until today no one is able to measure the depth of this lake. Many tourists that tried to dive into the lake but never return. The lake depth in the book is only estimation not as a fact.